Laptop reccomendations

[Goso]

Buddy of mine just picked up close to the same laptop you have linked in the OP. (some small differences, but the main similarity being the same GPU, 765m) He played the beta on the 2nd highest settings with 60fps+ framerate.

Personally I just picked up a Sager laptop, and I spent a good hunk of cash on it, but got the 780m card.
My benchmark is little over 10k with this card (admittedly, overclocked a bit :D)

If thin and portable is in your scope:
I was personally looking at the razer blade pro, but crap service from Razer but the kibosh on that. Again that comes with a hefty pricetag.
I noticed just a day or so ago, MSI fired back with a nice thin gaming laptop. http://www.gizmag.com/msi-gs70-gaming-laptop/28588/

I ordered my laptop from XoticPC.com, and got some of the best customer service I've had to date.
Poke around on there, I recommend Sager/Clevo as a brand, while they may be a smaller company, they have been making laptops for a long time. They don't spend the $$$ on marketing like the other companies do, and they keep the pricetags down on the product as a result.

[Ratatapa]

Cool link, but unfortunately there's no metric for "how much this is going to burn your nuts off". Sadly, I care more about that than I do peak-performance or even money. According to that link, my current system contains a class-3 (GTS 250M) and it plays FFXIV just fine with mid-range laptop settings (I'm no videophile; that's perfectly acceptable to me). The problem is that FFXIV causes itself to melt from the inside out (it already happened once; cost me ~$400 to replace the card).

You can also buy a laptop cooling pad?

exemple

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...BtEBkvl7kNTYmy

[Raldo]

Unfortunately Goso's response was a few hours too late, as I bought the one in the OP last night, but at least he gave a thumbs up to that one. I'll be interested in reading some personal reviews of these so-called "thin gaming laptops". That can't possibly have a fan in it, right? Passive cooling probably won't cut it; sounds like something you could cook an egg on while you're gaming.

You can also buy a laptop cooling pad?

Okay, lets jump on this tangent.

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/prod...%20(USB%202.0)
I have one of these for my existing laptop, but it's shit. I don't know if I'm using it wrong (how the fuck do you use it wrong?), but it lasts me just shy of a year before it breaks. I bought it around 2 years ago. Just before the 1-year warranty was up, it periodically stopped working (probably a short in the wire or power connection somewhere, since I could turn it on and off just by wiggling the power connection). I got it replaced for free, and we're fast approaching another year with this thing. Lo and behold, it's starting to exhibit the exact same problem.

So with that said, do you have some sort of laptop cooling recommendations? I paid $50 for the above solution, and spending that much for a glorified fan in a metal chassis should certainly last me more than a year. Keep in mind that it needs to be able to support a big fat ~17" laptop, so that rules out a vast majority of cooling pads that aren't made for something of that size.

[Deuce]

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/prod...%20(USB%202.0)
I have one of these for my existing laptop, but it's shit. I don't know if I'm using it wrong (how the fuck do you use it wrong?), but it lasts me just shy of a year before it breaks. I bought it around 2 years ago. Just before the 1-year warranty was up, it periodically stopped working (probably a short in the wire or power connection somewhere, since I could turn it on and off just by wiggling the power connection). I got it replaced for free, and we're fast approaching another year with this thing. Lo and behold, it's starting to exhibit the exact same problem.

So with that said, do you have some sort of laptop cooling recommendations? I paid $50 for the above solution, and spending that much for a glorified fan in a metal chassis should certainly last me more than a year. Keep in mind that it needs to be able to support a big fat ~17" laptop, so that rules out a vast majority of cooling pads that aren't made for something of that size.

That looks like it would be better at trapping heat than dissipating it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834992818

I would recommend a product similar to this, although its construction may not be as sturdy as you'd like. Aluminum mesh panel with large holes and no under side covering for maximum airflow. The aluminum construction is also better than that crap they put in the one you have. Rubber and plastic aren't the best materials at dissipating heat. Aluminum mesh lacking an enclosed structure would do a much better job.

Edit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...WS&PageSize=20

Pulled up all of the top sellers and ordered them by Most reviews on Newegg. Quite a few of the ones that are towards the top are similar in design to what I was mentioning.

[Raldo]

The trouble with the one you're suggesting is that it's USB (2.0) powered. It's my understanding that the fans won't get as much juice to do as much cooling, compared to the AC-powered unit I bought. That's the main reason that I bought the one that I did (which shows up in 8th place in your rating-ordered link; I basically did the same thing you did and bought the highest-rated large cooling pad that accepted AC power).

Unfortunately, if you don't have any personal experience with that particular unit, I'm just going to assume it's just as shoddy as the one I have and that it'll fail on me in a year. In that case, I'll pass and probably just hold out and see if they come out with a USB 3.0 powered cooling pad.

[The Stig]

To my knowledge I'm not aware of a device that requires USBx powering. It's just a set of fans. It requires very little if no power. USB2 or 3 or not, it won't make any difference, it's just a fan spinning at variable speeds. The make, material, shape, and design which equates overall to how air is moved around would be more important. If they can even make it spin faster, then it will generate a lot of noise, which will defeat its purpose for most people.

I'm also unsure what's so good about the AC-Powered one shared, again it's just 2 fans with a very industrial base/look that's good for nothing. I will bank on the fact the AC is to power the lights lol and/or the usb expansion. Is it optional to hook the laptop to the base? Or will it function entirely on its own?

Laptop cooling is more dependant on the laptop's design. A cooler will alleviate the problem a little by absorbing/transfering heat like an actual cooler.

I brought http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/...tent&task=view (I don't see it being available from the official site, but I haven't looked elsewhere) for my Alienware m17x (2009) since day 1 and it works like a treat (it's on right now still in fact, nearly 4 years running and no sign of it breaking), however, the m17x is also designed with numerous grills and vents underneath it, and it's also a metal of some sort (it's cold to touch) which in the overall scheme of things probaby helped it a lot in using the fresh air the fan helps to draw to the base.

[gaogaostegosaurus]

Do those cooling pads actually do a decent amount of cooling? The frequency at which they seem to break (anecdotally) always put me off from trying one and I always figured that the laptop's thermal design would have the greatest effect on if it would fry itself, not a USB powered external fan.

I always just put my laptop on one of those baking racks and placed a fan nearby... Hasn't broken once!

[The Stig]

I always just put my laptop on one of those baking racks and placed a fan nearby... Hasn't broken once!

They do work, but in reality you're doing what is I would call the economical method. It's definitely not wrong and is in fact a good idea. Quite simple, an actual pad just lifts the laptop up, and draws fresh (usually cool) air from around the base and flushes it to the laptop's base.

You're doing the same, except the nearby fan blows fresh air over from a distance, and probably onto the laptop as well. This helps it to cool 2-fold. Naturally, blowing it over should overall help mitigate the heat somewhat. and the bottom is getting the needed cool air to further enhance the cooling. Without that, the fans work harder to draw more air in an attempt to cool it effectively.

I don't understand how people break them. I can only imagine they don't take good care of it? Unless it's by natural damage (through use) I've used this:

http://store.antec.com/Product/noteb...5-75004-2.aspx

http://store.antec.com/productimages...oler_black.jpg

for 7 years now and the only damage it has is that it rattles (like most fans). Granted, I've only ever brought from Antec (in my opinion/thought, it's a well respected PC cooling brand) and not from any 3rd party or any other company. I understand and appreciate the need to save money and thereby buying cheaper brands (the 2 antec fans I've linked to in this topic are a little more expensive, especially the bigger version).

EDIT: Cooler Master is also a well respected brand so it's just unlucky I guess things break here and there.

[Cett]

I saw this thread and had been planning on buying a new laptop for FFXIV due to being mobile a lot. I was looking for something capable of running FFXIV on max setting and a hopefully a SSD in it(otherwise I can just put on in after the fact). I just don't want to blow my money aimlessly. From what I've been browsing of MSI, Asus, and Alienware I'm looking at the $2,200-2700 price range is this correct or am I throwing my money away?

[The Stig]

Throwing money away. Look on the first page where many laptops were suggested for less than $1000, but you won't get optimal performance. But it should be playable. If max setting, then yeh over $1500. I'm unfamiliar with USA prices so I cannot throw numbers/recommendations out as easy as some. But in perspective, I'd need approx £1300 (just over $2000) if I wanted something to run FFXIV in max/best settings.

MSI do really good laptops in my opinion bang for buck. According to a few on these boards, Asus's G series are just as good too.

No need to go for Alienware. That's just premium in terms of if you want a really sleek machine.

[Cett]

From what I've been able to find from those two in the lower configurations but still with an nvida 780M. I'm not sure how over kill the nvida 780 is by comparison I don't mind using something lower I just wanna be able to get a laptop that will run this game on ultra for 2-4 years.

These are the two from MSI and Asus that I found so far, if there's any other brands or notebooks I'd greatly appreciate anyone's input that is familiar with these products or others.

http://www.msimobile.com/level3_prod...x?cid=6&id=397

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrab...specifications

[Raldo]

I went with the ASUS, just because it looks like someone actually put some thought into the airflow and cooling system, but I don't know enough about hardware to be giving out recommendations.

[Deuce]

I'd recommend against purchasing Alienware products. They're ridiculously marked up with a bunch of lights attached to them. If you can find a laptop with the specs you're looking for and good reviews then I'd go with one of those. I've heard good things about Asus and MSi lately. Both brands produce desktop motherboards and they're generally of good quality so I'd believe their laptops would be as well.

[MrSamuels]

How would the following specs expect to run this game, I have no clue how good laptop graphics cards are in comparison with the recommended specs to the game.



Intel Core i5 3210M(2.50GHz)
8GB Memory 750GB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce GT 620M
1366 x 768
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
DVD±R/RW

My girlfriend wants to play and is not interested in mega good graphics etc just something that can run on medium and make her taru look cute, to quote her. Can anyone find something better? price range is around $600

[Icarian]

With a 620M do not expect to play at anything above the lowest possible settings at a decent framerate, It's just a tad higher on the GPU scale than integrated graphics.

[Raldo]

Is that a laptop that you have currently, or one you're looking into? If you have it already, just run the benchmark and see for yourself.

[Intervention]

With a 620M do not expect to play at anything above the lowest possible settings at a decent framerate, It's just a tad higher on the GPU scale than integrated graphics.

Just as a gauge, I have an AMD a8 (7640g) laptop. I ran the benchmark with standard laptop at 720p and got 3900ish. Average framerate was 30. I used it in p3 beta it was playable not something to write home about.

Per notebookcheck.net
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...M.72198.0.html
620m should run better than my 7640g.

[gaogaostegosaurus]

Having owned both an i5 and an A8 at some point, I think the cpu intensive nature of MMOs also pretty much guarantees that computer will run it okay (but nothing to write home about though as said before), since Ivy Bridge i5s run enormous circles around the A8 CPUs.

At a price of $600 there probably won't be anything significantly better than that, although you may find models with slightly better graphics options for a little more.

[Intervention]

Having owned both an i5 and an A8 at some point, I think the cpu intensive nature of MMOs also pretty much guarantees that computer will run it okay (but nothing to write home about though as said before), since Ivy Bridge i5s run enormous circles around the A8 CPUs.

At a price of $600 there probably won't be anything significantly better than that, although you may find models with slightly better graphics options for a little more.

I would believe this would be the best for $600.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYT8H3Y/..._am_us?ie=UTF8

Though CPU wise an i5 will still out perform it on CPU benchmarks. But I think for all around and some decent gaming out of it. For sure out perform the 620m. Though since it is dual graphics (crossfire) it may have some weird technical issues.

[Cett]

So with the annoucement of P4 next Friday I was looking at this laptop:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...70%202OD-001US

Any techi out there in you opinion will this be able to run on high/(pref)Ultra for the next 2-3 years?